Mandarin: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
by Anthony Garnaut, Lonely Planet Phrasebooks
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anthony Garnaut, Lonely Planet PhrasebooksEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-09-01
ISBN: 1741042305
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Book Reviews of Mandarin: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
Book Review: Useful but Flawed
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is flawed, but I use it anyway because it's easy to carry around and use.
My qualifications: I live in Taiwan. I've been studying Mandarin for about a year, but only in a class for the past six months. I have carried this guide around with me almost continuously for most of the past year and have used it in a variety of situations.
The flaws:
-Some words are incorrect. Example: the word for "jump" is "tiao2" not "pao3" (which means "run"). The word given for "pineapple" is the Thai word. My Chinese teacher has also corrected my use of various dairy product words such as "cream" and "yogurt" (I derived them from this book). Perhaps some of this is due to the difference between Taiwan Mandarin and Beijing Mandarin, but I doubt all the errors can be explained in that way.
-The book only has simplified characters, which means it's more difficult to use in Taiwan (which uses traditional characters.) Lonely Planet does not provide an equivalent phrasebook with traditional characters.
-Some of the words are not useful. Why would a traveler need to talk about the ozone layer in Mandarin? If I go to mainland China, would it be sensible to discuss Tibetan separatism or the Falun Gong? Though interesting, some of the vocabulary is useless, or perhaps even dangerous to use on the mainland (I'm speaking from what I have read about free speech in the PRC, not personal experience).
-The pronunciation guide to Pinyin makes generalizations that can be damaging to the accents of students of the Mandarin language. For example, "q" is not equivalent to the "ch" in "churn". It's a different sound altogether (though it seems similar to the untrained Western ear). I understand the author simplified the pronunciation guide for clarity and brevity, but I have found it quite misleading.
-Some of the phrases do not literally mean what the book says they do. Putting the literal meaning in parentheses would be helpful (the guide does this some, but not enough). Example: "bu2shi4" literally means "is not" not "no". (This means it doesn't make sense to use it as a response to statements or questions that don't use "shi4"). Perhaps my Mandarin isn't that good (I've been formally studying for half a year now), but I've noticed differences between literal and supposed meanings several times.
-The cover is not durable. I've had to bind mine with tape to keep it from falling apart.
But, the phrasebook has these good points:
-It's small and easy to carry.
-The dictionary in the back is easy to use and has a lot of useful words.
-This guide is more practical than some others on the market.
Summary of Mandarin: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
Be a part of the world's most widely spoken language with this essential language tool for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Includes Pinyin phonetic system to help travelers translate Chinese characters into English, pronunciation guide, extensive two-way dictionary, user-friendly sentence builder, and cultural tips.China Books
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